Hunter and the Hunted
by childofdarkness154
Summary: Five years after PB, Riddick returns to New Mecca to get Jack, who never left, but will she be able to forgive him for leaving her. M for language. Plz Review!
1. Reunion

Imam walked through his house, lighting candles as the sun set and darkness approached, he didn't noticed the silver eyes that glinted from the dark corner of the room. It was only when he went to light a candle in that direction did he notice the man who stood in the corner watching him. Imam jumped slightly, startled, dropping the skewer he used to light his candles, the tiny flame extinguished as it hit the ground, Riddick took a step forward, into the dim light.

"Where's Jack?" he demanded in his deep voice, his shaved head shining in the light like his eyes.

Imam looked up at him. "I am unsure, she disappeared a while ago."

"You were supposed to take care of her." Anger infiltrated his voice as he stepped forward again.

"Jack runs through the city." Imam explains. "I cannot stop her, not that I haven't tried, she disappears for days on end, returns covered in bruising and bleeding, she does not explain where she goes."

"Where is she?" he asked.

"She should return soon, she always does." He said. Riddick looked around the room with his shining eyes, as his gaze fell upon the nearest candle, he winced as the flame burned brightly, he extinguished the flame with a hand, throwing his tall frame into more darkness.

"I'll wait," he said. "It's time me and Jack had a little conversation."

"You mean to take her with you?" Asked Imam.

"Depends on how pissed she is with me. We'll see." He said.

"This isn't twelve year old Jack anymore Riddick." Imam cautioned. "She grew up, she changed, she didn't like the fact that you left her for five years, only the thought of you returning stopped her from leaving New Mecca and searching for you on her own."

"I know, you should get out of here." Riddick advised.

"Why?" asked Imam.

"Mercs, the saw me come here, they'll come after you and your family." He warned.

"What of Jack?" Imam asked.

"Relax holy man, you've done your job, I can protect Jack." Riddick said, he cast a hand over another candle, the light disappearing, when Imam looked back to where Riddick was standing, he had disappeared.

Jack pulled herself up onto the ledge outside her room. She hadn't been back in three days and the fatigue was getting to her, she needed clean clothes, food and bed, preferably in that order. She jumped through the window, landing on bare feet without even making a noise, she smirked, that was something Riddick had taught her.

Going over to her cupboard, she pulled out a set of clean pants and a shirt, heading for the shower, she paused to listen for signs of life around the house. She heard nothing, this was no surprise, Imam would no doubt be at his mass like always.

Turning the shower on, she stepped under the hot water and involuntarily groaned with relief as the hot water hit her skin and loosened the muscles in her neck, shoulders and back. Her face suddenly stung as water hit it, and Jack raised a hand, feeling a short, shallow cut that followed her cheekbone. Inspecting the bruising that coated her ribs, she found with some relief that none of her ribs had been broken, as they had with past encounters of this sort.

When she finally stepped out of the shower, she noted that a cut on her forearm was bleeding freely, she walked over to the medical cabinet and pulled out bandages, wrapping her arm securely. Dressing in lose cargo pants that sat lightly on her hips, and a shirt that stopped below her belly button, exposing a fair amount of tanned, toned flesh. Shivering in the cool air, she walked back her room to find a light jacket, carrying it downstairs with her and throwing it over a chair as she walked into the kitchen, she looked in the cupboard, she no longer had an appetite after touching her blood covered clothes. Walking over to the sink, she poured herself a glass of water, bringing it to her lips, she paused.

Riddick looked up at the roof above him, he could here footsteps, too light for a normal person to hear, but then again, he wasn't normal. He could smell the blood from down below, some was hers, some wasn't, then it was all washed away by the shower. When she had begun to walk down the stairs and into his view, Riddick had almost expected a scrawny twelve-year-old girl, instead, a seventeen-year-old woman walked into the kitchen, where her head had once been shaved, now she had dark brown curls that tumbled over her shoulders and down over her back, still damp from her shower, her green eyes were alert and scanning the room. She looked briefly in the cupboard, then went to the sink, pouring a glass of water, she bought the water to her lips, and then hesitated. That's when Riddick knew she had sensed him, he watched as her hand drifted to her side, no doubt seeking the knife she had left upstairs, her hand went to the draw to her left, where Imam no doubt kept the kitchen knives.

Riddick moved quickly, stepping from the shadows, he took hold of the wrist that sought out a knife, twisting it behind her back to stop her from stabbing him, the knife she held fell uselessly to the floor. She winced and then used her free arm to elbow him in the stomach, he unintentionally released her and she spun around, kicking him the abdomen as she went, Riddick grunted, then grabbed her shoulders and slammed her into the nearest wall. Pinning her shoulders with his hand, he used the rest of his body to stop her from kicking him, she looked up into his shining eyes and instantly stopped struggling. When she was still, Riddick released her and took a step back, regretting it instantly as a fist flew towards his head, connecting with the side of his face. Grabbing her, he slammed her against the wall again, this time she continued to struggle.

"Stop!" he roared at her. She struggled to free herself from him, finally he let go and stepped away from her, out of reach of her fists. She watched him warily, panting slightly, brown curls falling into her face. With a hand she swiped them back angrily, Riddick looked at her, she had grown up, where she had once skinny limbs, she now had long legs and strong arms, she had filled out in all the right places and let her hair grow out, he had no doubt that she would have trouble passing for a boy again.

"Where's Imam?" she asked.

"He left." Riddick replied, still watching her, she didn't ask for an explination, instead, she walked back over to the sink, drained her glass of water before walking upstairs away from Riddick. He watched her go, hearing the door slam loudly. Smirking he thought about the way she had fought him. she was faster than he remembered, and stronger, not strong enough for the mercs he knew were coming, and soon, silent as ever, he went up the stairs, following Jack's scent, it was time they left.

Jack flung open the window, with every intention of jumping out, onto the ledge and over the gate, she did it all the time, however it was the shadows that lurked beyond the gate that stopped her. Closing the windows, she flipped her mattress over, underneath was an assortment of weapons, mostly shivs and knives, she pulled out a bag and began to pull clothes into it.

"Nice collection." Came a voice from the door, in her packing she hadn't even herd Riddick open the door.

_Better pay more attention Jackie girl._ He thought, as he looked at the blades under her bed.

"What do you want Riddick?" she asked, not looking at her.

"To get you off this rock, away from the mercs outside your gate." He said in his deep voice.

"I can take care of myself." She muttered, still not looking at him.

"Yeah, I can see how good you are at that." He said, walking forward, he took her chin in his hand and inspected the cut on her face, she jerked her face out of his hands and stepped away from him.

"Why now Riddick?" she asked softly. "After five years, you dumped me here and took off, why want the big fucking happy family reunion?" her voice rose.

"I told you I had-" he began to say.

"Mercs on your neck, you'll always have mercs on your neck." Jack interrupted. "I'm sick of hearing the same old bullshit Riddick." Before she could say anything else, a fist flew towards her face and she fell unconscious.

Riddick caught her before her body could hit the ground, he grabbed her bags and carried her downstairs, placing her limp body on the couch, he walked outside, as he did so, his hand reached for his shivs.

Five minutes later when he returned for Jack, there were no longer any mercs outside the gate. He carried her through the city and to his ship where it waited. It was brand new, he had bought it with money he made from shipping illegal goods, always trying to throw the mercs from his back, it was larger than his previous ship, but still unnamed. Carrying Jack into the larger of two bedrooms, he laid her on the bed, leaving her bags beside her. Returning to the cockpit, he started up the controls, once cleared he took off, waiting until they were free of the atmosphere before setting eh autopilot controls, then reclined back in the chair and waited for Jack to wake up.

When Jack opened her eyes, all she could see was darkness, it haunted her, she couldn't sleep in darkness, not without nightmares, yet here she was in a strange place surrounded by it. She could feel a bed underneath her, sliding her legs of the end, she felt her feet connect with the cold metal floor, hesitantly she took a step forward, then her shin connected with something and she swore loudly.

Down in the cockpit, Riddick heard her swear and smirked, Jack was awake. He stood up as she staggered into the cockpit, calling for lights. When she reached him he offered a hand to steady her, instead he received another fist to the face.

"Do that again, you'll regret it." He threatened her.

"I regret a lot of things." She said, "That was not one of them." She said.

"Feel better?" he asked, smirking.

"Yes, I do." Jack said, sliding into the co pilot seat next to his.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, studying the diagnostics on the screen.

"As far away from New Mecca as possible." Riddick said simply.

"And that would be?"

"I have to stop at Hellion Prime, got a delivery to make, then on to wherever I have to go."

"And your just going to drag me along with you?" she asked.

"Whatever it takes." He said, looking at her, she didn't look at him, only stood up.

"Where's the bathroom?" she asked.

"Down the hall, third door on the right." He said, watching her, still not looking at him, she walked down the hall and slammed the door shut. He smirked again, some things didn't change, and she still wasn't a morning person.


	2. Being Hunted

here is the next chapter.

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Disclaimer: I Don't own Pitch Black, or Riddick, damn.

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The next three days were hard on Jack, who had forgotten what space travel was like, having to get used to it again. It was a struggle for her to hold down most of her food, but she eventually got used to it again, something she couldn't stand was the cold. Where Riddick was comfortable with the chill, jack found herself dressing up in multiple layers of clothing. A week after they left New Mecca, Riddick found her in the engine room, making adjustments to something.

"What are you doin' Kid?" he asked, startling her.

"Fixing the damn heat on this thing." She said, trying to calm down her startled heart rate.

"Why not wait until we land?" he asked.

"Riddick, we land in two weeks, I will be dead by then." She said, sliding out from under the heater.

"You're not going to die, not while you're with Me.," he said, walking away, Jack hated when he spoke like that, making it difficult for her to read his emotions, she shook her head and climbed under the heater again.

Another thing she had difficulty with was the light, they were with off, or so dim it was difficult to see. More than once, Jack had turned up the lights, only to have Riddick walk into the room and be blinded.

But the most difficult thing for Jack was the silence, Riddick wasn't much of a talker, but sometimes the lack of conversation would drive Jack mad, on those occasions, Riddick would find her in the ships makeshift gym, taking her anger out on the punching bag. She hadn't had a chance to fight Riddick since their little scuffle when he had surprised her, sometimes he would watch her as she trained, he respected her for the fact that she had honed her body to perfection, she was a little on the thin side, he supposed that would be from the times she didn't come home to eat, but besides that she was in perfect shape. He learned the hard way that she was good with knives, when he had waken her up once, she had pulled a knife from under her pillow and almost stabbed him until she woke up properly and realised who she was trying to stab.

In truth, Riddick had been almost expecting to come home to a bald twelve year old kid who was eager to follow his every move and be like him, instead he found a woman who was short tempered and independent, with dark hair that trailed down her back and a bad attitude. It was little things that annoyed him, like seeing old scars on her legs and arms where she hadn't been quick enough, her angry glares that made him remember that he had left her alone.

It was two weeks into their journey when the bright lights of the ships alarm awaked Jack, she gripped the knife she kept under her pillow and called the lights up in her room. satisfied that no one was going to kill her while she was half asleep, she climbed out of bed, grabbing her boots and jacket as she went, heading for the cockpit. Riddick was already there, taking the controls. Jack slipped into the co pilot's seat and looked at what the screen said.

"Mercs?" she asked.

"Must have followed us, stayed out of range, they came too close now." Riddick said, overriding the autopilot and taking control.

"We going to outrun them?" asked Jack.

"We're faster, they have an older ship, slower, more heavy," he said, reaching up to flick on several buttons.

"So why are you prepping the ships defence mechanisms?" she asked.

"In case I underestimated them." He said.

"And to think I thought you could never be wrong." Said Jack, scanning the weapons inventory. Riddick smirked.

"Can you take control?" he asked,

"I guess." She said, sliding out of her seat and into his as they switched, she took the controls and measured how long it would be at their current speed to outrun them.

"We're gaining ground, they're falling back." Jack noted. They waited until there was no trace of them on the radar before Jack turned on the map.

"We're approximately three hours from Lupos 5." She pointed out.

"Set the autopilot for there, we're going to need to ditch the ship, get another, lose he mercs." Riddick instructed.

"And how do you suggest we do that with the payday on your head?" she asked.

"You don't have a payday." He pointed out.

"How long will that be for?" she muttered as he walked away and she set the controls.

They landed Lupos 5, three hours later, Riddick landed the ship in the docks.

"Stay here." He ordered.

"What?" she asked outraged.

"I will lock you in if I have to," he threatened. "Stay here until I get back." He walked away. Closing and locking the hatch behind him.

"Goddamn it Riddick." She yelled, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

As he promised, he returned, almost five hours later, to find her sweating in the gym as she punched the bag viciously.

Anyone could sneak onto this ship." He commented, making her jump violently.

"Well only one person knows the combination, I didn't think it would be a problem." She said scathingly.

He let the comment slid. "Pack your stuff." He ordered. "I got us another ship. We leave tomorrow morning."

"Great," she muttered sarcastically, "Another prison." She said, suddenly Riddick grabbed her arm and slammed her into the wall, pinning her there by her shoulders.

"If you have a problem with being alive, tell me!" he yelled at her. "I'm trying to keep your ass from the mercs, if you have a problem with that, I'll give you to them."

"Let go of me Riddick." She ordered through clenched teeth.

"Lights low." He ordered and they dimmed significantly. He ripped the goggles from his face so he could look her in the eyes, she deliberately avoided his gaze.

"I tried for five years to keep them from getting you, I did what I had to, they would have gladly cut you up to use you for bait." He said in low voice.

"Real great way to show you care." Jack hissed. "Lights high." She called, they sprung to life and Riddick dropped Jack, hissing in pain.

"Pity I don't need your help anymore." She called as she walked out of the room. Riddick swore and slammed a fist into the wall, yelling for lights off.

In her room, Jack shoved everything in her beg, she grabbed all the knives she had hidden everywhere, she picked up the one from under her pillow and cried out as it slipped and slid through her finger, slicing her hand open before cluttering to the ground. Jack swore and grabbed a clean shirt from her bag, wrapping it around her bleeding right hand. She dropped to her knees to pick up the knife, wiping the blood off on the shirt around her hand, she was about to put it in her bag, when she changed her mind and slid it back under her pillow, just in case. She looked around for her jacket and realised she had left it in the cockpit earlier. Cradling her injured hand to he chest, she walked over to the co pilot's chair, where the jacket had been draped across the back. She grabbed it and turned around, almost colliding with Riddick who was standing right behind her.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked.

"It's nothing." She muttered, walking past him. He stuck out a hand and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand to him. She rolled her eyes and stood there while he unwrapped the shirt, the cuts stinging as they came into contact with the air. Riddick reached up and grabbed the first aid kit from the shelf next to him.

"Sit." He ordered. Jack was about to protest when she saw his expression and sat down, a stormy look clouding her face.

Riddick grabbed a handful of clean while bandages and set to wrapping them around her hand, securing them tightly, but not so tight as to cut off her circulation.

"I have to go out again tonight." He said, standing up. "I won't be back till late."

"Great." She muttered. He walked out and she heard the hatch slid closed and the code activate, meaning she was locked in again.

When he returned later that night, he gently opened the door to her room and looked in on her sleeping, he could small salt, from her tears he closed the door and walked away.

He stopped, hearing a noise, footsteps outside the ship. Walking into Jack's room, he clamped a hand over her mouth and woke her, his hand swung up to grab her hand, which held the knife she kept under her pillow, Riddick could still smell her blood on it from where she had cut herself.

He pulled her outside of her room, pulling his goggles on and bringing a finger to his lips, she nodded. Leaning in towards her ear he whispered.

"There are men outside the ship, no doubt mercs, can you use that hand of yours?" she nodded again.

"Good." He whispered, handing her a set of shivs. Then he whispered a set of instructions in her ear.

Five minutes later, Jack opened the door and stepped out, instantly being grabbed by two mercs, she put up a bit of a struggle, but stopped the minute a knife touched her throat.

"We got the girl Riddick, come out of we'll gut her." One if them yelled.

"Toombs, if you were a man you'd face me without using her as bait." Said Riddick, stepping from the ship, the interior lights illuminated the scene. Instantly guns were trained on him, Jack could count three men with guns, two of them held her, and she could hear another two in the shadows. Jack watched as Riddick put a hand on the wall near his head, his eyes behind his goggles flicked to her and she looked towards the shadows where the other two hid. Suddenly the lights went out, Toomb's men fired towards Riddick, but he appeared behind him, cutting one man down and breaking the neck of the other. Jack reached for the man who held the knife to her neck, she twisted a knife into his stomach, and spun around to slice the throat of the other, relying on her sense of hearing, not being able to see anything. One of the two men came from the shadows, heading towards Riddick, another came towards her, she could hear his footsteps,. Retrieving the two shivs Riddick had given her, she flung one towards the man going for Riddick and the other she used to cut down the man who approached her. Then they both stopped to look at Toombs.

"So tell me Toombs." Said Riddick, as he and Jack closed in on him. "What's the bounty up to now?" he asked.

"One mill." Said Toombs as he backed up against the ship, a knife flew towards his head, imbedding itself in the metal close to his head. "One point five." He gasped.

"That's better." Said Riddick. "But which slam pays that for a convict?" he asked.

"That's for the two of you." Toombs said.

Riddick looked over at Jack who raised her eyebrows.

"What do you think? " She asked him.

"Leave him, he can be a warning not to screw with us." Riddick said, Toombs looked relieved until Riddick swung a fist into his face and he slumped down unconscious.

"Grab your things." Ordered Riddick. "We're leaving." He walked up to the ship. "And Jack?" he said, turning back.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Put some actual clothes on." He said, she looked down at her shorts and singlet she slept in. Shrugging, she walked into the ship, changed and grabbed her bags.

The new ship wasn't far from their old one, Jack dumped her bags and walked into the cockpit, inspecting the controls.

"We are fully fuelled and ready to go." She told Riddick. He nodded and sat down next to her, flicking controls and brining them to life.

"Where to now?" Jack asked him.

"Away from here, we'll head out to the Morse system, got connections there. Get supplies and refuel, then we go try find the Holy Man." Riddick said.

"Where is Imam?" she asked.

"Don't know, I told him to disappear, let's see how well he can do it." Riddick said, as they received clearance and lifted.

Back on Lupos 5, Toombs woke up, he looked at the person standing before him and swore.

"Where is Riddick?" asked the figure, shrouded by their black cloak.

"I don't know." Toombs said, not looking up.

"You have one more chance to bring him to me, and the girl, both alive." Said the figure, before walking away. Toombs got off the ground and went to go find himself a new crew.

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I used aspects from the movie Chronicals of Riddick, you probably noticed. 


	3. hunter or the hunted?

Sorry if this one is kinda short, i'm writing two at once.

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Disclaimer: you know the drill.

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Jack awoke from a nightmare, sitting up and crying out, she was used to these nightmares, they occurred every now and then, they were the memories of T-2, not exactly easy to forget.

She slid out of bed and walked outside, wincing as her feet made contact with the cold metal floor. She found Riddick in the cockpit, he must have known she was coming because he held up a cup of coffee for her.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"I could ask the same thing." She said, slumping in the co pilot's seat. "I can sleep, it's the nightmares."

"Do they happen often?" he asked.

"Not really, just when I'm worked up." She muttered, more to her coffee than him.

"Maybe you should go make more use of the punching bag?" he suggested.

"There is only so much anger I can direct at that thing." Jack said to him, a hidden meaning behind her words. "Besides, it can't fight back."

"Don't even try it princess, you'll get hurt." Riddick said.

"Whatever." Said Jack, climbing out of her seat and back to her room. She changed into a pair of pants and a tight fitting shirt before walking up to the gym. This gym was larger than the one on their previous ship, it was also set a little higher in the structure to prevent instability while the ship was moving. Jack unwrapped the bandages on her right hand and inspected the deep cuts that ran through her fingers and down her palm. On more than one occasion she had ripped them open again, but now they were healing nicely. Jack rewrapped her hand tightly, flexing her fingers to prevent lack of circulation, then she attacked the punching bag. She was at it for over an hour when she heard the door open, turning around, she watched Riddick enter the room.

"Need something?" she asked, pulling her hair off her face.

"Just watching." He said.

"Not a lot to see." Jack said, resting back against a wall.

"Remember your previous offer?" asked Riddick.

"The one where I kick your ass?" she asked.

"The one where you try." He said, they were now circling each other, Jack watched, alert.

'Well, come on then?" she invited, dodging his fist, she circled around and attacked him from the back, trying to sweep his legs out from underneath him, his jumped and grabbed her, twisting her am behind her back as he pulled her up, he other arm swung around and caught him in the abdomen, released from his grip, she kicked towards the back of his knees, only to have him catch her leg and throw her to the ground. Wincing she sprung to her feet and managed to land a punch to his face.

"Lights off." He called, plunging the room into darkness, giving him one hell of an advantage. Jack stopped moving and closed her eyes, listening in the darkness. Suddenly, she ducked as a hand came flying towards her face, grabbing it she twisted it down and threw Riddick to the ground, pinning him there.

Suddenly he lifted her up and over before pinning her shoulders to the ground. Holding her arms with his knees, he called the lights up.

"Get off me." Grunted Jack.

"Mercy Jack." Said Riddick.

"What?" she asked, stopping her struggles.

"Say mercy." He said.

"Go to hell." She said, still trying to escape.

"Been there, you ain't getting up till I hear you say it." He said.

"Fuck! Mercy." She said, Riddick released her and she sat up, forcing air into her bruised lungs. suddenly she sprung to her feet, behind Riddick she pulled out one of her knives and put it at his throat.

"Say Mercy Riddick." She said, smirking.

"That's fighting dirty." He pointed out.

"No, that's improvising." She said. He laughed.

"Fair enough." She let him go then stood up, the cuts on her hands had started bleeding again and she looked down at the blood that was seeping through the bandages. She put her hand behind her back but Riddick had already caught the scent of her blood.

"Go bandage them." He said.

"You don't miss a thing, do you?" she asked as she walked from the room and into a shower.

Riddick leaned against the wall and inhaled deeply, the smell of Jack still lingered in the air, her sweat, her blood and her own unique smell that wreaked havoc with his senses. He was distracted by the alarms on the ship, ones that alerted him to an approaching ship, an unfriendly approaching ship.

He flew down the stairs and into the cockpit, Jack was already there, opening a transmission on the screen. Riddick was distracted momentarily when he saw that Jack was dressed in jeans and a towel, not having been properly dressed when the alarms went off.

All these thought flew from his head when the screen jumped to life and Toombs' face filled the screen.

"You can run Riddick but you cant hide." He taunted.

"Let the hunt begin then." Said Riddick, pressing the button to end the transmission.

"Go put clothes on." He said to Jack, not looking at her. She flew up the stairs and returned moments later with a shirt on and her hair pulled back from her face.

"What's going on?" she asked as she studied the diagnostics of the ship.

"New ship, faster and there closing in on us." Riddick informed her.

"That looks like more than one ship." Said Jack, looking at the screen, frowning.

"There are three of them." Riddick said.

"You got guns on this ship?" she asked.

"Not ones that would have an effect against these guys." He said. Strap yourself in." he ordered. she obliged.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"We can't outrun them, so we're going to out manoeuvre them.' He said. Overriding the autopilot and taking the controls.

"Riddick, we got an asteroid field not that far ahead." Jack warned.

"Good, a playing field." He said.

"I fear you at times like these." Said Jack as she adjusted the straps that crossed over her shoulders.

Riddick waited until the three ships had gained on him, before he stopped speed altogether and he and Jack were thrown forward. He came up under the first merc ship and lifted their ship, smashing into the mercs and throwing them off, he watched as that ship lost control.

"One approaching on the right." Jack cautioned.

Riddick veered sharply to the right, colliding with this ship and it too lost control.

"They're dropping too easily." Jack observed.

"Cheap ships, the main one's the most stable" Riddick said.

"What's the bet Toombs is on that ship?" asked Jack.

"Good thing the payday on our heads is cut in half if we die" Riddick said.

"Great," muttered Jack. "But they no longer have to split with as many people." She said, motioning to the two destroyed ships.

"Hold on." Said Riddick. Jack gripped the seat. Suddenly they were knocked by Toombs' ship, and it wasn't a friendly push.

"Should have ghosted him when we had the chance." Muttered Jack.

"I think his employer would have sent another person." Riddick said, taking the ship round to hit Toombs from behind.

"He said nothing about an employer." Jack pointed out as they came up under the merc ship, the next collision must have cause damage because Toombs eased off and disappeared.

Jack slumped in the seat and pulled off her seatbelt.

"I wouldn't so that if I was you." Said Riddick.

"Why not?" she asked. Riddick didn't answer, just pointed ahead to the asteroid field. Jack instantly strapped back up.

For the next ten minutes Riddick manoeuvred the ship through the asteroid field and following several near misses, they finally cleared the rocks and were able to relax.

"How long till we reach Morse Prime?" asked Jack.

"Six weeks." Said Riddick.

"Please tell me this thing has cryo chambers." Jack said.

"Sorry Jackie girl, your stuck with me for six weeks." He said with a smirk.

"I'm going to kill myself." Said Jack as she climbed from her seat.

"Not so fast." Riddick said, his hand shooting out to grab her arm.

"What?" she asked. He turned her hand over to see the cuts freely bleeding. Riddick grabbed the first aid kit and bandaged her hand for her.

"Take it easy, stop splitting them, they'll never heal." He said. Putting the box back, Jack walked out of the cockpit and walked to the kitchen.

As a result of Riddick's piloting, everything had been upended, Jack picked up the chairs and tried to return the food in the fridge back to the normal way round. Switching on the kettle, she set to making coffee.

"Going to pour me some of that?" asked Riddick.

Jack slid a mug across the bench to him.

"Nice flying." She commented. "Pity everything was on the floor."

"Maybe it would have been better getting caught by mercs, or being hit by an asteroid." He pointed out. Jack raised her hands in surrender.

"Whatever, I'm going to try get some sleep." She said, walking to her room.

"Jack." He called. She stopped.

"What?"

"Anyone would think that you're still mad at me." Riddick pointed out.

"No, they wouldn't think, they would just realise." Jack said stubbornly.

"I did what I had to do to get the mercs away from you." Riddick said.

"Some might call it abandonment." Jack said. Riddick walked over to her and slammed her against a wall.

"I did what I had to, to keep you alive, I left you in Imam's care, he gave you a home, food and clothes, I didn't abandon you on that planet to die somewhere." He yelled at her. They both knew that the planet he was talking about wasn't New Mecca.

"Why didn't you then, you obviously didn't care what happened to us." Jack yelled back at him.

he forced her back against the wall.

"I didn't spend five years on a frozen heap to show I didn't care, I didn't try to lead the mercs away because I didn't care." He called the lights low and pulled off his goggles to look her in the eye. "If you have a problem with that I will happily drop you on the nearest planet, I don't need a kid to tie me down, I don't need another ass to save." He yelled.

"Then why come back for me?" she asked.

"I care about only one other person in this world. That was a kid who was willing to shave her head to be like me, someone who wasn't afraid of me when everyone else was." Riddick let her go and walked out of the room. Jack slumped to the ground and out her head on her knees.

When Toombs landed back on Lupos 5, he had sustained damage to his ship, the other two ships were still missing, no doubt destroyed, if not by Riddick, then by the asteroid field.

"Once again, you have failed me." he stood before the cloaked figure, as she surveyed the damage.

"He's tricky, he's fast, and there was nothing I could do." Said Toombs.

"Yet it took you the loss of two ships, the irreparable damage of one and the loss of many lives for you to realise this."

"What was I supposed to do?" he asked, instantly regretting his words.

"You should have asked yourself, am I the hunter, or the hunted?" Asked the figure.

"You have one last chance, they told me you were the best, prove it."

* * *

Hm, insert evil laugh here, I'm going to have to think about this. and please, take pity on me and review, it'll break my heart if you don't.


	4. Working Through Issues

Hello again, apologies for the short chapter, but I have to get things moving, and issues to cover.

Thank you people who reviewed, you made my day, several times. please keep reviewing, and i will keep writing. fair exchange.

on with the show!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Black/ Riddick, however, if I owned Vin, I would be very happy.

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Jack knew Riddick was looking for her, and he knew it to, she could tell by the way his footsteps could be heard as he walked, he was normally quiet. Jack ignored him and kept her head under the engine where she was trying to find out what had happened during the game of 'dodge the asteroid.'

They had sustained damage to the exterior of the ship, that couldn't be fixed for another five weeks when they reached Morse Prime, nothing seemed to be wrong with the engine, but Jack was making sure, not wanting to be blown up because of a loose bolt. What she did find however, was disturbing. She pulled a piece of metal from a part of the engine with great difficulty, where she had some experience with engines, not a lot, but enough to know that this didn't belong, then her memory triggered and she knew what it was.

"There you are." Said Riddick from the doorway, startling her as she hadn't heard him coming.

"Why is there a tracker hidden in the engine?" she asked, holding up the mechanism.

"What?" he asked. Walking over to her, he snatched the small metal device from her hands.

"Toombs." He said, anger filling his voice. Jack silently handed him a hammer and stood back as he placed the device on the ground and smashed it into little pieces.

"Well, that must have been how they found us." Jack commented after a few moments silence.

"Bastard must have had it put into the ship after I bought it, on the high chance he could capture us." Riddick mused.

"Didn't know who he was dealing with." Jack said, wiping the oil on her hands onto a rag.

"Fucker, I should have ghosted him when I had the chance." Riddick growled.

"Don't we all think that?" Jack said, pushing her hair of her face and walking from the engine room, Riddick followed. "Did you want something?" she asked.

"Wanted to know where you were." Riddick said. "You've been avoiding me."

"Yeah, I do that." She said, walking into the kitchen and closing the door behind her.

"Women." Riddick muttered as he walked back to the cockpit.

In the kitchen, Jack sat down and put her head in her hands, thinking. This couldn't keep going on between them, the stilted silence, the avoiding each other. The tension could be cut with a knife. Absent minded, she played with a stray lock of her hair as it fell over her eyes. She sat there and thought about the nightmares that had been occurring every night for the past week, T-2, the planet that had changed the lives of three people, and claimed the lives of many more.

Every night it had been the same dream, the monsters, the darkness and being left behind by Riddick, would he had left them there to die?

Jack didn't want to answer that question, the ones that needed answering, she wanted to find Imam, go back to New Mecca and forget about this, about the mercs, about Toombs. But then another problem arose, what of Riddick, could she forget about him? Could she stand watching him leave again?

"I'd say by the way your hair's cutting off the circulation in your finger, that you're thinking about something serious." Said Riddick from the doorway, watching her with his goggles eyes. Jack looked at her finger where her hair had been tightly wound around. She released the hair and looked up at Riddick.

"Just thinking." She said, not meeting his eyes.

"About?"

"What are doing?" she asked. "Finding Imam, getting away from Toombs, then what?"

"What do you want?" he asked.

"A little white house with a white picket fence and three neatly dressed children." Jack said sarcastically. In truth, she didn't know what she wanted.

"Are you sure?" he asked, in her ear, making her jump as she hadn't seen nor heard him move.

"No." She said sullenly. "Who knows what they want Riddick?" she asked.

"I do, I want you on this ship, where I know your safe." He said.

"I'm a big girl, I can handle myself." She said, walking towards the door.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure about anything." She said, walking away.

Tombs looked at the screen and swore as the tracking device symbol, disappeared from the screen, they must have found it by now. Once again he was down to one ship with a seven-man crew. Riddick once told him that a four person crew was a fucking insult, but Toombs knew that all he needed was the girl, then Riddick would come crawling, why else hide away on a shitty little planet, other than to distract people away from her.

"Toombs." Came a voice of one of his crewmen.  
"What?" he snapped.

"The records show that Riddick is headed towards the Morse system." The man said.

"My bets on Morse Prime." Said another crewmember. "The other planets aren't much, just seven little dumps floating around."

"Morse Prime it is then boys, and lady." He said in respect to the female crewmember. "Lets get it right this time." He muttered under his breath.

"Jack!" came a voice in her ear, she was having another nightmare, creatures jumped from the dark, surrounding her.

"Jack!" came the voice again. Jack sat up and swung at the shadows with her knife.

"Cool it Jack." Came Riddick's voice. "You're having a nightmare." Jack shook away the effects of sleep and lowered the knife she held.

"What did I tell you about sleeping with knives?" asked Riddick, his eyes shining in the darkness.

"Better than sleeping alone." Jack commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Riddick growled. Jack stood up and walked out of the room without saying anything.

Riddick growled and slammed his fist into the wall.

He found her in the cockpit, looking through the windows at the stars, her face was pale and emotionless, her eyes closed. Listening to her breathing, Riddick realised she had fallen asleep in the chair, something he had done more than once.

Bending down, he scooped up her light body and carried her back to her bedroom, laying her on the bed. He went to walk out of the room, but stopped when he heard her mumble something. Walking closer to the bed, she spoke again.

"Don't leave me." she murmured.

"I'm here, don't worry." Riddick said softly.

"Don't go." She murmured.

"I won't." he said, lying down next to her and cradling her in his arms. Jack slept peacefully, not stirring as she slept without nightmares.

The next morning, she was once again in the engine room, fixing something that was making a lot of noise, she had woken up to find Riddick in her bed with his arms around her, and that had startled her. Rather than wake him, she let him sleep, instead addressing the issue of something come loose in the engine.

Picking up a spanner, she made an adjustment and then listened to it, satisfied that it was running smoothly. Wiping her face off, she unknowingly transferred a smudge of oil from her hands to her cheek.

Packing away the tools she had been using, she left the room and narrowly avoided crashing into Riddick's bare chest.

"forget a shirt this morning?" she asked politely, walking past him.

"You should have woken me." he said.

"Why?" she asked. "Might as well enjoy sleeping in while you can."

"What about you?" he asked.

"What about me?" Jack asked as she turned around to look at him.

"Do you know you've been having nightmares every night this week?" he asked.

Jack did know it, she had the bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep and was constantly plagued by fatigue.

"I'm fine." She muttered, storing the tools away in a cupboard.

"It's T-2, isn't it?" he asked.

"Not exactly something you could just forget." She said.

Riddick took a step forward to her, and raised a hand to her face, she involuntarily flinched.

"You have oil on your face." He remarked, Jack jerked her face from his hand and used a cloth to wipe down her face.

"I'm not going to hurt you kid." Riddick said following her to the bathroom.

"I learned not to trust anyone." She said, looking in the mirror as she wiped the oil away.

"And who taught you that?" he asked.

"You did, when you left me alone." She said, walking past him and up to the gym.

An hour later she had worked up a sweat continually attacking the punching bag. Her hand had started aching again, the cuts were now half-healed scars but still protested from the vicious workout as she slammed her fist into the bag repeatedly.

Taking a break, she lent against the wall and closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing, her lungs hurt from holding her breath so much while she worked out, a habit she had yet to break.

Unwrapping the bandages, she looked at the scars, flexing her hand to test the pain, content that they were not going to split open again.

"This isn't going to work itself out." Riddick said from his place against the doorframe.

"What isn't?" she asked.

"This, your anger at me."

"I wasn't aware that you were conscious of other people's emotions Riddick." Jack said angrily.

"Fuck it Jack!" he said angrily. "I'm trying here, I'm putting up with your shit, sorry I left, sorry I saved your ass from the mercs, I made sure Imam would take care of you, I knew you would be safe, what else could I have done Jack?" he yelled at her.

"You could have stayed." She whispered. "Instead of leaving me to deal with the memories and nightmares on my own."

Riddick walked over her and stood above her.

"You should have stayed away from me." he said softly.

"You were all I had." She whispered.

"What about Imam?" he asked.

"Imam was great, but he didn't understand." Jack said quietly.

"Understand what?" he asked.

"What I was going through, he thought your leaving was the best thing in the world, he thought that once you left I would be a quiet little studious girl. Well I wasn't, and he didn't understand that."

"Some things we can't change Jack, I'm sorry I left, but I'm not sorry I came back." He said, walking out of the room. Jack slumped down and put her head on her knees. They had over a month to reach Morse Prime, a month with no cryo chambers, alone with Riddick on a ship.

Standing up, Jack returned to working out with the punching bag, overtime she punched it, or kicked it, she worked through a new issue, in no time at all, she felt much better.

* * *

Dont worry, more is on the way, most likely tomorrow. 


	5. Finding Imam

This one's kinda short, sorry. thankyou to people who reviewed.

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The following four weeks were the most difficult for Jack, she ate, she slept, she worked out, sometimes Riddick would work out with her, then they would get into sparring matches that he would always win, using his height and build to his advantage. It was the constant repetition that annoyed her, so it was to her great relief when Riddick found her in the engine room, once again having fixed the rattle that came and went, to inform her they would be landing soon.

Wiping her hands off, Jack followed Riddick to the cockpit and strapped herself into the co pilot's seat, preparing herself for one of Riddick's not so gentle landings. When they cleared the atmosphere of Morse Prime, Jack leaned over to look out the windows at the tops of the many buildings.

"We're landing at the North docks?" she asked Riddick.

"They don't ask so many damn questions." He said, steering the ship.

"Because most of the people that land there are going to use the whorehouses in close proximity." She muttered, checking the statics of the ship on the screen.

"We shouldn't be here long," Riddick told her. "Get what we need and leave, don't talk to people or tell them where we come from." He ordered.

"I'm not an idiot." She grumbled, bracing herself as they touched down.

Unbuckling her restraints, she stood up, somewhat shakily.

"Where are you going?" asked Riddick as she walked towards the hatch.

"Out, I have been on this ship for more than six weeks Riddick, I swear to God if you lock me, I will kill you." She threatened.

"Be back before sun down." He said, stepping from the ship. Grabbing her jacket, she mentally calculated that sun down was at least four hours away, plenty of time.

The docks at which they had landed were in access to the slums of the capital of Morse Prime, a sprawling city Jack had never learned the name of. Ducking through the back alleys, she worked her way through the city, into a more respectable and safer part of the city. The streets opened into a market, where Jack watched the people greet each other and purchase things. Stopping to inspect a stall that offered old-Earth books, she felt the back of her neck prickle as she felt someone watching her. Trying not to be overly obvious about it, she looked around causally and spotted a man in the crowd. He wasn't familiar, with dark hair and eyes, but the way he watched her was.

Leaving the stall without buying anything, Jack pushed her way through the crowd, into a back alley where she waited.

Several hours after sunset, Riddick arrived back at the ship, opening it up, he realised that Jack hadn't returned yet, cursing, he shoved the package he held in his hands into the cargo hold and waited. She returned almost three hours later, when Riddick was deliberating whether to go looking for her, she seemed happy about something, and looking at her, Riddick could smell something on her, blood. Not only hers, but someone else's as well. Ignoring Riddick she walked onto the ship and into her room where she changed from her blood and sweat streaked shirt, inspecting a spreading bruise over her ribs and several small cuts and grazes.

"Where were you?" asked Riddick as she stepped from the room.

"I had a little incident." She answered, walking straight past him and into the kitchen. He noticed the way she moved gingerly, as if too much movement hurt.

"What happened Jack?" he asked loudly.

"Someone thought they could take me on, well actually there was a lot of them, I just gave them what they had coming." She replied, shuffling though the freezer for something cold.

Riddick waited while she pulled off out a tray of ice and dumped it in a bag, as she walked from the kitchen, she pressed the bag to her ribs, wincing as they cold ice made contact with her skin, even though the layers of material.

Riddick watched her go, listening as her door slammed shut. Walking out of the ship, he locked her in, or in his eyes, locked someone else out. Slipping silently though the city, he listened and smelled the scents in the air, and then he caught one familiar one, Jack, that led him straight through the bad parts of the city and down an old back alley near a market that was packed up for the night.

Down in the alley, he removed his goggles, able to see bloodstains upon the ground, there were a couple of men there, still unconscious, but still breathing. With a sense of pride, Riddick was able to see that Jack had thoroughly beaten them up, whatever they wanted to do, they didn't have a chance. The blood on the ground, Jacks blood suggested that someone had gotten a lucky shot in, he didn't know what with and made a note to ask Jack later, however for now, he was going to teach these people not to mess with His Jack.

Several hours later, Riddick walked back to the ship, locking it again, he walked straight to the shower, washing away the blood of the men he had found.

"Where did you go?" asked Jack the minute he stepped from the bathroom.

"I could ask the same thing." He growled.

"But you no doubt already know that" She said, he looked at where she was leaning against a wall, still with some distance between the wall and her ribs.

"Where did they get you?" he asked.

Jack held up an arm, he could see a long gash along one arm, one that wasn't exactly shallow. Riddick took a step forward to look at it, but jack yanked her arm away.

"It's nothing." She said, avoiding his gaze.

"Bullshit Jack, let me look." He demanded. Jack held out her arm and allowed him to look at the cut, which had already stopped bleeding. "Come on." He said, yanking her into the bathroom, where he washed and bandaged her arm for her.

"Look Riddick," she said when he was done. "I can take care of myself, I don't need you protecting me like this."

"I care Jack, I left and I'm going to make it up to you." He said seriously.

"By smothering me to death?" she muttered as she walked back to her room.

Walking to the cargo hold, Riddick retrieved the package he had stored there before, opening it, he was greeted with files, all of them with dates and times on the top of them. Settling down in the cargo hold, he sorted through all the files that listed descriptions of the people who had been passing through the Morse system. One profile caught his eye, middle age Muslim man, and his wife and four year old daughter.

"Found you." He whispered.

"Found who?" asked Jack.

"Imam passed through here, about three weeks ago, with his wife and daughter." Riddick told her.

"That could be any family." Jack said, looking over his shoulder at the file.

"On a commercial ship from New Mecca, perfect timing, this is them." He said.

"Where are they now?" she asked.

"Just passing through, according through the files, the ship went to the Lirage System." He said. Jack picked up the file and looked through it.

"How far away is that?" she asked.

"About three weeks travel." He said,

"We better be going then." She commented.

"So you noticed the market was swarming with mercs as well?" he asked.

"I'm not stupid." She said. Riddick began to pack away the files as she prepped the ship for takeoff. "Are we stocked enough for three weeks?" she asked.

"We're going to make a stop off on Morse four." He said.

"That's in three days." She pointed out.

"We'll be right till then." Riddick said, receiving clearance and taking off.

The worst part about space travel, thought Jack as they lifted, was most defiantly clearing the atmosphere. Her stomach jumped as the ship found it's way through and out into the clear realms of space. Riddick set the autopilot as Jack checked the fuel and oxygen supplies.

"This is going to be close." She commented, looking at the screen.

"It'll be fine." Riddick said, looking over her screen at the shoulder.

"If you say so." She said, unbuckling herself and walking to her room to sleep of the effects of taking off so abruptly.

When she woke up a few hours later, she found Riddick in the gym, sweating profusely as he worked out.

"So how exactly did you get those files?" she asked.

"I have a friend there." He replied.

"You have friends?" she asked.

"Not that kinda friend, try acquaintance." He said, stopping to look at her. Jack couldn't make out his expression in the dim room, he had kept the lights low to work out, not needing his goggles, meaning Jack could see his silver eyes in the gloom.

"How did you know where Imam would go?" she asked.

"He mention once, a long time ago he would have wanted to go through the Morse system, Lirage, maybe to Telaron, before he settled in New Mecca." Riddick told her.

"Why didn't he?" she asked.

"I dunno, didn't ask."

"I'm going down to get food, you hungry?" she asked. Riddick shook his head and turned his attention back to the bag. "Whatever." She said, leaving.

In the kitchen, she grabbed and apple and used one of her knives to cut it into pieces, each one she chewed purposely with thought. Looking at the time, she realised that it had taken her over two hours to at her one apple.

Toombs looked at the person in the office, he didn't seem a day over thirteen and he reeked of fear as the mercs stormed the office.

"We're looking for a big man, bald with goggles, would have had a seventeen year old girl, dark hair, green eyes, you seen them?" Toombs asked.

"They passed through here a couple of days ago." He stammered.

"We missed them Toombs." Said Alexia, his only female crewmember.

"Where were they headed?" Toombs asked the kid.

"I don't know, we don't ask questions here." The kid said, trying to back away from them.

"The closest system id the Lirage system." Said one of the others.

"Well then, looks like we got our new destination." Said Toombs as they all left the office.

"You think this is worth is Toombs?" asked Alexia as they walked back to their ship.

"You seen the payday on his head, doubles almost every time he jumps a planet, this is worth it." Toombs growled.

"Why is the girl so important though?" she asked.

"She's the only person he ever gave a damn about, you kill her you might as well kill him, I don't know why they want Riddick so badly, but I tell you, this is worth it." He said.

"Even divided seven ways?" she asked.

"Even divided seven ways, we'll still be up for early retirement." He promised.

Jack and Riddick landed on Morse four, three days after leaving Morse Prime. Riddick handed Jack a handful of money and told her to buy food. Refilling the fuel and air tanks, he followed Jack to the market, to help her carry back the food she had bought.

Packing it all away in the cupboard, Jack herd the ships alarm go off, signalling they had received a message. Walking up to the cockpit, she opened it and read the message.

"Riddick!" she called, urgency in her voice.

Riddick heard the urgency in her voice and walked quickly and quietly up to the cockpit.

"What is it?" he asked, startling her. holding a hand over her heart.

"You should see this." She told him, stepping out of the way so Riddick could see the message from Morse Prime.

"So they followed us to Morse Prime." He noted.

"And they know we're going to Lirage." She said.

"Looks like we're staying here a few days." He said.

"Why?" she asked.

"We wait for them to go to Lirage, then we follow, see who's hunting who now Toombs." Riddick growled.

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i promise something will happen next chapter 


	6. Three Days

I'm back, sorry if this is a little long winded.

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The market place in a busy city of Morse Four was swollen with people, doing their day-to-day business. People sold objects from stalls and shoppers stopped to inspect goods. Jack was dressed like the other women there. Hair tightly braided under a sheer headscarf, long sleeved shirts and skirts, mainly because of the cold that came from being further from the sun than the other planets.

She passed from stall to stall, keeping her head ducked in what would seem like modesty, stopping briefly at some stalls to see what they offered.

Returning to the docks where they had landed three days earlier, she stepped onto the ship, pulling the scarf from her hair.

"Riddick?" she called. As usual there was no answer. Walking into the kitchen to check the food stocks, she made a note of what food they would need.

Scribbling a note to Riddick and leaving it on the counter, she covered up her head again and left, this time headed for the food shops.

She shopped quickly, grabbing only what they needed and paying with cash. Grabbing the bags, she worked her way through the crowd and into a back alley that offered a short cut to the docks. She kept walking, even as she sensed someone was coming up behind her, not turning around, she quickened her pace.

"Going somewhere?" asked a deep voice.

"Riddick, you almost gave me a heart attack." Jack said, gasping. "If my arms weren't full of food, I would hit you." She threatened.

"Here." He said, taking some bags from her and considerably lightening the load. "I got word from a friend on Morse Prime that Toombs and his crew headed out a few days ago." He said.

"If they don't stop by here, they'll go straight to Lirage Prime." Jack noted.

"Yeah, but it took them a few days on Morse Prime, which means they probably stocked up and refuelled." Riddick said.

"So when do we leave?" asked Jack.

"Day after tomorrow." Riddick said as they reached the ship and walked inside.

"We don't know if the ship they have at the moment is faster or slower than ours." Jack pointed out.

"This is one of the fastest Jack, ever wondered why no cryo?" he asked.

"Fair enough, I still reckon you should get some installed." She said as she put away the food. Pulling off her headscarf, she shook all her hair free, noticing that she needed a haircut as the lengths fell down to her waist.

"God, I don't know how they wear those things." She said, letting the length of material fall to the ground. Riddick bent down to pick it up.

"Don't let them onto the fact that you're not from here." He said. "Last thing we need is someone trailing us here."

"Or trying to rape and kill me in a back corner somewhere." She said.

"Exactly." Riddick said. "I'm going out for a while, don't stay out after dark." He ordered, before disappearing.

Jack finished putting everything away before hearing the message alert go off in the cockpit, walking up there, she walked over to the screen and hit the accept button. Scrolling through the message she saw that Toombs had just passed by Morse Four, but his destination was Lirage Seven, a cold little planet on the very edge of the Lirage system.

"What are you doing Toombs?" she muttered to herself.

Looking at the time, she saw that she had an hour till sunset, grabbing the annoying headscarf and a jacket, she locked up the ship and walked through the alleys, going to find a place where she could get hot food.

A group of men detached themselves from the crowd, spotting Jack they walked into the alley. Jack counted about five of them and judging from the footsteps behind her, another two had come around to box her in.

She resisted the urge to laugh at them, they seriously didn't know what they had gotten themselves into.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing, wondering the back alleys?" asked the leader of the pack.

"Tyring to avoid idiots like you." Jack said sweetly, her hand was drifting to the knife she wore at her side.

"Don't be like that sweetheart." Said another.

Jack had heard enough, she knew their intentions and she also knew that they wouldn't walk out f this unharmed. Quickly pulling out her knife, she threw it at one man, hitting him between the eyes, pulling out another, she ducked as one of the men went to grab her, standing up again, she slashed the throat of another, before burying the blade into one man's chest. The remaining four men looked panicked at Jack turned to them. They ran towards the end of the ally, only to see it blocked by Riddick, who gave them the full wrath of his un-goggled glare.

"These boys bothering you Jack?" he asked.

"I had the situation under control." She said, walking towards them.

"I can see that." He said, looking over at the bodies behind her. one of the men panicked and tried to run past Riddick, only to be stopped by his shiv at his throat.

"Where do you think your going?" he asked. with a quick motion, he slit the guys throat, Jack came up behind another and stabbed him in the back, then did the same to the other guy. The remaining man broke free and fled up the alley, Jack flipped her knife over, gripping it by the blade, she threw it. It flew through the air, hitting the guy in the back. He fell down and didn't get up.

"Why do they always go for the defenceless girl in the back alley?" she asked, walking over to the bodies and retrieving her knives and wiping the blood off onto the dead men's clothing.

"You should get back to the ship." Riddick told her.

"A message came through." She said. "Toombs and his crew passed by, they're on their way to Lirage Seven."

"We leave tomorrow then." He growled.

"Why Lirage Seven?" she asked.

"He's waiting for us to pass, follow us, just out of range to Lirage Prime." Riddick said, thinking.

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"The plan is for you to go back to the ship." He said. She rolled her eyes and walked back, grumbling all the way.

Jack waited until he came back, which was much later that night. He ignored her and went straight to the shower, Jack could smell the scent of blood from down the hallway.

"What happened?" she asked when he stepped out.

"I've been trying to find our who hired Toombs." He said.

"And?" she asked.

"It's from Helion Prime." He said. "Had you in their sights for a while, waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Jack asked.

"Me." Riddick said, looking at her where she was leaning against a wall.

"Who wants their hands on a convict so badly?" she asked.

"The bounty isn't just for me, it's for you too, both of us alive." He said.

"Thrilling, not even eighteen and I have a bounty on my head." She muttered.

"I was in a slam before I was sixteen, that's nothing to brag about." He growled at her.

"Who said I was bragging?" she said, walking away.

The next morning, there was a silence between them, nothing was said except for the orders that Riddick barked and her acknowledgment of that.

They took off early, avoiding the sunrise and the traffic that came with it.

"So tell me about this person who wants us." Jack said to Riddick.

"They were on Helion Prime, it was anonymous, and they hired Toombs because he's one of the best." Riddick told her. Jack snorted at hearing this.

"Pretty crappy considering that he's the best, why do they want us alive?" she asked.

"I don't know." He said, his expression changing.

"Oh no Riddick." Jack said, seeing his expression. "You really want to give Toombs the satisfaction?"

"You want this bounty off our heads?" he asked. "I can break out of any cell they put me in."

"But what about me Riddick?" she asked.

"You stay with me." he said.

"You can't guarantee that." Jack told him.

"Trust me." was all he said. Jack bit her lip and nodded.

The landed on Lirage Prime in the afternoon for that planet, they waited in the hanger, not really doing anything, just waiting. It didn't take long for Toombs to find them.

In just moments, the ship was surrounded by mercs, Jack counted about twelve, with more in the shadows.

"Learning from your mistakes Toombs?" she asked as he emerged. Riddick waited, not moving, he could have taken them all on before they could even blink.

Within moments, the both of them were in chains, Jack gritted her teeth as they patted her down and removed all the knives she had stashed on her.

"Get them on the shops boys." Ordered Toombs, once again overlooking his female crewmembers.

"Well this is going to be fun." Said Jack sarcastically as they were chained into the ship's cryo chambers. "See you on Helion Prime."

She felt the effects of the sleeping gas as they overwrought her senses, her vision blurred and her eyelids felt heavy as she went to sleep.

For Riddick, the hardest part of the journey wasn't all that time semi-conscious in the cryo chambers, but having to watch Jack as she slept.

He had seen how she had gritted her teeth while those bastards had patted her down, and how they had roughly chained her up. She wasn't an escaped convict, sure she was dangerous, but she was also just a kid. He had been through slam before he was sixteen, he was used to the way prisoners were treated.

But this was the kid he had met when she was a twelve year old, already then she had seen more than a kid her age should have to see. She had seen him like a brother, and it had hurt him to leave her, and now she was chained up, something he had never wanted to see.

He waited, soon they would reach Helion Prime, then when he had gotten the bounty off their heads, he would make Toombs regret the day he put his eyes on her, and the rest of his pitiful crew, then he would kill the person who had set the bounty.

Then him and Jack would find the holy man, no bounty, and no chains, just them.

Jack awoke to a bright light streaming into the cabin, she could see that everyone else was awake and preparing to land. Looking across the cabin, her eyes met Riddick's. but she closed her as they hit the atmosphere and began to land.

Riddick and Jack were escorted from the ship in chains, twelve guns aimed at them, more at Riddick then at Jack, but them again she hadn't worked up that much of a reputation for murder and escape.

They were led to a hall where people seated above them in galleys to watch as they were led in.

"Anyone would think that this is a fucking freak show." Jack muttered to Riddick as she looked around at the people who were watching them being bought it.

"I think their chains can be removed." Came a voice from the front of the hall. A figure stood there, shrouded in a black cloak.

Toombs' men came forward, almost hesitantly to remove the chains. Jack rubbed the raw skin where the chains had chafed at her wrists.

"What kind of man hides behind a cloak, won't stop me from slitting your throat." He growled.

"I assure you," Said the figure. "Death does not frighten me." he reached up to remove his hood.

The man underneath was so pale that Jack had to wonder whether there was any colour to his skin at all, black eyes stood out against the white, staring at them deeply.

"Am I supposed to be awed or something?" asked Riddick.

"Come, we may discuss matters privately." Said the man, motioning with his hand.

"What about her?" he asked, motioning towards Jack.

"She will be fine." He said.

"I'm not going anywhere without her." He growled.

"Fair enough." He said. Jack and Riddick walked out of the hall and into a smaller private room. "Forgive the audience." The man said as they walked. "They wanted to see the famous Riddick for themselves."

"I think you mean infamous." Jack said, looking around the room, which seemed to be some sort of study.

"On the contrary, we see him as our salvation." Said the man.

"Who is 'we'?" growled Riddick.

"My name is Greayon, these people are the ones, the only ones to have escaped the wrath of the necromongers." He said. "Very few have opposed them and lived."

"Necro- what?" Asked Jack.

"They are the race of men, who convert, or kill entire planets, only a handful of people have escaped with their lives." Greayon said.

"And what has this got to do with me?" asked Riddick.

"Because you and her are of the utmost importance." He said seriously.

"Cut the crap and get to the point." Jack said.

"They say that the only people who can stop the necromongers are furyian warriors." He said.

"I'm sure this has a point somewhere." Riddick said.

"Knowing that their defeat lies with the Furyians, furyian males were strangled at birth by their own cords." Greayon said. Jack watched Riddick as his expression changes. "You have to help us."

"I want this bounty off our heads, I don't have to help you do anything." He growled.

"The future of the universe is at stake." He said.

"Not my fight." He said. "Why bring her into this." He said, pointing at Jack.

"She too, is Furyian." Greayon said.

"Excuse me?" said Jack.

"Have you not spent your life running away from foster homes, you learned to escape quickly, you learn quickly, were always good at blending in, being unseen."

"That means nothing." Jack said.

"It is the traits of a Furyian, smart, strong and resilient, they are able to adapt, to hide, to change. Did you not dress up like a boy to travel safely, after spending one hour in a new city you were able to fid your ay through any back alley or main road." Greayon looked looed between them. "You are Furyian, the strongest, the ones who would never bow down."

"Not our fight." Said Riddick, walking towards the door.

"That is where you are wrong. They destroyed your home planet, they killed your people." Greayon said.

"How do you know all this?" asked Jack, turning around.

"Because I too, am Furyian." He said. "You are the ones who can help us."

"We want the bounty off our heads, we don't want to be dragged into this." Jack said.

"We can give you the life you dream of." Said Greayon. "No mercs, not bounty, you would be a free man. And her too, both of you could live in peace."

"What do you want us to do?" he asked.

"The invasion is coming, keep that in mind, you will lead an army against them." Greayon said.

"I only take care of two people, me and her." Riddick said, meaning Jack. "Not my problem." He said, walking out, Jack followed him.

"We can't guarantee your safety if you walk out." Greayon said. It was enough to stop him. "We know you would do anything to keep her safe." He said, meaning Jack.

"Maybe I could think it over." He said.

"Of course. Avalon will show you to your rooms." He said, motioning to a girl who walked in the door.

"They have room's prepared for us?" Jack asked.

"Three days Jack," Said Riddick. "That's all I give them."

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Please, Please, Please Review! please. 


	7. Deciding

Thankyou for the people who reveiwed, you make my day! On with the story:

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Disclaimer: i don't own Pitch Black/Riddick

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Jack and Riddick were led to a set of rooms, looking around her room, Jack noted that hers was spacious and comfortable, with a large bed in the middle of the room as well as a desk and a door that led to a bathroom. Set in one of the walls was a wardrobe, which Jack discovered upon opening, was full of clothes her size and preference of style. The first thing she did was grab a clean pair of cargo pants and a tank top and went to make good use of the bathroom.

Feeling clean for the first time in ages, she put on her boots and went to explore the building, which mainly seemed to be built underground, away from the hustle and bustle of Helion Prime and it's cities.

Following one hallway, she found herself in some sort of training room, where using various weapons, people were sparring. The men who fought one another seemed young and strong, they had the kind of strength that came from years of training.

One man who was slightly older, watched them fight, commenting occasionally when one would slip up or do something wrong.

Leaning against the doorframe, Jack watched for a while, she saw moves that she was itching to try on someone and she was lucky when the instructor turned around and saw her there.

"Would you like a go, my lady?" he asked politely. She grinned and kicked off her boots, loosening her limbs as she went.

Walking onto the soft mats that protected people from bad injuries when they fell, she turned to the instructor.

"Any rules?" she asked.

"Only that you are in dept to the person that bests you." He said.

"What kind of dept?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing serious, just a task perhaps." He said, Jack nodded and turned to face the man that walked into the ring.

Riddick had heard footsteps as they walked down the hall outside his room, he knew Jack's footsteps and knew that she was no doubt looking for trouble.

Waiting till she had rounded a corner, he opened the door and followed her.

When he found her, she was in a sparing match with a man who looked like it would be very easy for him to overpower her, he looked confident and Riddick almost pitied him for underestimating Jack.

The man flew at her and she nimbly ducked away, circling around, she dropped to the ground and swept his feet out from underneath him, before she could blink, the instructor had shoved another man into the ring, this time he held a long spear style weapon, only this had a double axe head, swinging it at her she ducked as it swooped either side, he led swung out to hit him on the groin and he double over, Jack catching the axe as he fell and using her leg to push the man away. Swinging the axe, she caught the axe of the man who came behind her, using the dull top of the axe, she caught him in the stomach and pushing him back.

The next man rushed her with a sword, Riddick almost began to worry, but his fears evaporated as Jack caught the sword as it flew down towards her, and used the axe to clip the man below the jaw and send him flying.

The trainer pushed two men into the ring this time and Jack ducked away from their advances, sweeping one mans legs out from underneath him and using her axe to club the other, the first man sprung to his feet, only to be knocked away by the blunt side of the axe being swung into the side of his head.

Three men this time went for Jack, Riddick could see that it was difficult for her to keep this up, but she deftly rolled away and behind one of them, she kicked him in the back and sent him sprawling into the other two, trapped beneath the fallen man, they were unable to get up.

Without even looking, Jack reversed the axe into the man approaching behind her, then jumped into the air as another lunged for her.

Not even listening to the trainer, they all jumped in to attack her, Riddick watched as she swung the axe around, knocking them away before more of them swarmed. Grabbing the back of one, she used his shoulders to jump into the air and came back down swinging the axe to hit them.

Riddick could see that they were about to overwhelm her, so he stepped in, grabbing two of them by the necks, he tossed them from the floor, repeating this with another.

Grabbing his recently reacquired shivs, he used the handle of them to club two of them in the head, rendering them unconscious. Reaching into the pile of bodies, his hand closed over Jack's arm and he pulled her from the throng of people.

"Thanks." She gasped, using the axe to knock down the person who approached them. Seeing that they would fight both Jack and Riddick, the men backed down and resumed defensive stances.

Jack relaxed and threw the axe onto the ground, using a hand to sweep back her hair from her face.

"That was fun." She said to the trainer.

"We are hear every morning." He told her. "I am Savarin." He introduced, placing his palms together and bowing New Meccan style.

"Jack." She said, also bowing to him.

"You are indeed strong." He said to her. "Though you do not look it."

"You wouldn't be the first person to underestimate me." she said, breaking away to retrieve her boots and pull them on. Standing up again she nodded at the group of men, more than one who were nursing bruises and walked from the room.

Riddick followed, offering neither introductions nor acknowledgements.

"Why would they have a training room?" he asked Jack.

"I don't know, but if those are the trainees, I'd hate to see the real deal." She said. "I want to know what they're training them for."

"They think there's going to be a war." He said.

"Entire systems are vanishing, and they think that a few men can stop them?" She asked.

"No, they think one man can stop them." Came a voice from behind them, Riddick and Jack turned around to see the first man that Jack had fought off in the training room.

"Forgive me for underestimating you earlier." He said. "I didn't think that the rumours were true."

"What rumours?" growled Riddick.

"The rumours that there are two Furyians here who can stop the necromongers." He said, with all seriousness.

"We can't help you." Said Jack.

"Why did the Lord Marshal wage his won private war on Furya?" Asked the man. "Why are his converts taught to hate and fear the Furyians?"

"Who are you?" asked Jack.

"My name is Kalen, I was a convert, my mind was cleared and I was freed." He said.

"You were a convert?" asked Riddick. Kalen pulled down his high collar to reveal the scars on his neck.

"They cloud your mind, the life you once had is like a dream you cannot remember, there, but just out of your reach." He said.

"How did you break free of this?" Asked Jack.

"Away from the envoy, the mind wavers, the conscious clears and the memories return." He said. "It takes some time for the effect of their brainwashing to wear off, but once it does, everything is clearer."

"Why do they want our help?" asked Jack.

"An army, even led by just one Furyian, would give us enough hope, and distil enough fear." Kalen said, Jack looked up at Riddick.

"Three days, then we give them our answer." He said quietly to her, she nodded.

"For now, let us not discuss this matter, you are no doubt hungry." Said Kalen courteously. Jack nodded eagerly.

"I will show you the kitchens then." He said, indicating that they should follow.

"I'll catch up to you later kid." Riddick said to Jack, before disappearing.

Jack shrugged and walked over to Kalen who offered her his arm, she took it and they walked down the halls together.

"Is he always that silent?" Kalen asked Jack.

"Mostly, he has this habit of sneaking up on you and frightening you to death." She said.

"A true Furyian." Kalen reflected. "The both of you."

"I can't be Furyian." Said Jack. "I'm not that quiet." She said.

"I have heard about your earlier years." Said Kalen. "Was it true you dressed like a boy?"

"It was to keep me safe, plenty of people want to mess with a young girl on her own." She said to him.

"The Furyian way of deceiving those around you to remain unnoticed." Kalen told her.

"Riddick noticed that I was a girl." She pointed out.

"But he too was Furyian." Kalen said as he opened a door for her that led to a hall, inside there were benches and chairs arranged so they all faced a long table at the end of the hall. People were sitting throughout the hall, while others lines up to receive food. Standing at the end of the line, Jack felt uncomfortable with people turning to look at her, she found herself pushed to the front of the line by several insistent people. She grabbed her food and quickly sat down at a table that was seated further to the shadows.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to put your back to the shadows?" Growled a voice in her ear.

"Jesus Riddick." Gasped Jack. "Don't do that!"

"Mr. Riddick." Kalen acknowledged, bowing his head.

"You're really going to kill me." Jack said to him. he sat down in front of her and grabbed a piece of apple from her plate.

"It'll teach you to be aware." Riddick said, taking a bite of his stolen food.

"If I'm alive." Said Jack. "Where did you disappear to?" she asked.

"Making sure no one was following us." He said.

"Uh huh, is anyone?" she asked.

"Yes, one of the men from the hall, little thin guy." Said Riddick.

"You prevent him from following us?" Jack asked, as if inquiring innocently about the weather.

"He'll take an interesting message back to his master." Riddick said. Jack thought for a moment while she ate her food.

"Might I inquire into the nature of this message?" asked Kalen.

"It's a warning." Explained Jack. Kalen looked confused. "I won't go on while your eating." Jack said and he nodded.

When they were done eating, Kalen offered to show then around the building. Riddick disappeared, while Jack took Kalen up on his offer.

He showed her everywhere from the kitchens to the gardens, they entire layout of the place had been perfectly constructed. They had everything from practise courts to landing hangers, a great part of the building being underground gave it an illusion of being much smaller from the outside.

"How many people live here?" Jack asked.

"There are the hundreds that live here, and then there are the thousands that are based throughout the planet, waiting and training." He told her.

"Waiting for what?" she asked.

"The invasion." He said, pointing up, Jack looked into the sky and saw a vast comet, becoming more visible as they sun set.

"They come, and so we prepare." He told her.

"Are you sure they are coming here?" she asked.

"No, they are headed to Helion Four, it is there that we have intentions of engaging in battle." Kalen said to her.

"When?" she asked.

"In two weeks."

This shocked her. "Two weeks, that's all?" she asked.

"There would have been more time should the bounty hunter have been able to capture you sooner." Kalen said.

"That's still not a lot of time." She said quietly, night had fallen by now and she was still tired following the after effects of cryo sleep.

"Let me escort you to your rooms." Kalen offered, she nodded and walked with him, glad that he knew the way. Once outside the door, he was about to walk away when she called him back.

"Will you be fighting?" she asked.

"If it's what I have to do." He said.

"But you could die." She said.

"It is a risk I'm willing to take for freedom." He said. "Goodnight."

Jack let herself into the room and sat on the end of the bed, thinking. Hearing a slight knock on the door, she looked up as Riddick walked in.

"What do you want to do?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Fight, or leave?"

"Some things are worth dying for, is this one of them Riddick?" she asked.

"I don't intend to die, or to let you die." He said.

'You say that now, but you can't always help me in a fight." She said.

"That's why you won't be fighting." He said. Her head shot up.

"What?!"

"Jack, I won't risk you dying." He said.

"But you can't guarantee that you won't die." She protested.

"Who said I was going to die?" he asked. "I can take on a planet full of monsters, I can take on a few necromongers." Jack smiled lightly.

"Well, we better tell them our answer." She said.

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Reveiws help me to write, so if you want more story, better review! 


	8. Arguing and Making up

I'm back, yay, sorry if this took awhile. As always, reviews, thanx to the people who have reviewed, you make my day.

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Disclaimer: Don't own Riddick

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"You know I can fight!" Jack said as she dodged a fist flying towards her face, she grabbed the arm of the man trying to hit her and threw him forward onto his back.

"The argument is over princess." Said Riddick from his observation point, leaning against a column as Jack ducked and kicked the legs out from underneath the next man who rushed her. They had been arguing all night and this morning when he had found her back at the training room, it had resumed.

Riddick tossed her one of the bamboo poles the trainees used and tossed it to her, Jack caught it and in one sweeping motion, used it to knock down three men.

"You know I'm good enough!" she protested as she used raised the pole to fend off another man as she used another bamboo pole against her.

"Not for what I have planned." Riddick said, watching the way Jack twirled the pole around her body until it was little more than a blur, she didn't seem to have trouble with it and didn't even wince as it made contact with another pole, held by one of the trainees. She swept the pole up and knocked the pole from the trainee's hands and pushing him back with a firm kick to the chest.

"You have something planned?" She asked Riddick, stopping to look at him. "What?"

she swung the pole back without looking and caught the man in the chest, not even looking back, Riddick had to admire her use of hearing.

"It's a surprise." He told her.

"I don't like surprises." She said.

"Learn to like them princess." He said, pulling his goggles down over his eyes and walking from the room.

"Don't call me Princess." Came her cry as she fought off another man.

Jack tracked him down two hours later as he studied complex maps of the main Necromonger ship.

"Riddick, what's going to happen?" she asked.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with." Riddick said, shuffling maps.

"Bullshit Riddick, I want in." She protested.

"You'll be helping." He said.

"Thankyou." She said, "Wait, helping how?"

"I still have details to go over, I'll tell you when I'm ready." He growled.

"What's wrong with now?" she asked.

"Because haven't planned everything." He said, not looking at her.

"Well I can help." She said.

"We are going up a race that we know nothing about, how can you help?" he growled.

"Well for one, I can tell you that your map is upside down." She pointed out. "Here's the main room, it appears that everything branches out from there, find the path, memorise the way to go, I'm assuming that's to find the person who runs this little freak show."

"I'll need a distraction." Riddick said.

"Well, you can kill the leader, me and some of the men will distract them." She suggested.

"What kind of suggestion are you talk about?" he asked.

"I think explosives will work nicely." Jack said.

"How do we get them into the ship in the first place?" asked Riddick, Jack grinned wickedly and he found himself almost dreading what she had planned.

The next day, Jack found herself talking to one of the trainees with an extensive knowledge of explosives, Riddick walked in to find them with their heads bent over a device and the man was showing Jack how to connect the wires.

"Can we rig them to give us time?" She asked.

"Yes, but not a lot, it's drop them and get out." The trainee said.

"Hey Riddick." Said Jack, not looking up, but instead studying the device carefully.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"This is Paolo, he is an explosives expert." She said.

"I found a way into the ship, the only problem is we have to wait for the thing to land." Riddick explained to her.

"Show me." She said, following him to the map room where several paths had been marked on the map. She pointed to a room on the map. "That's where the leader person is?"

"They call him the Lord Marshall." Came a voice from behind them. Riddick and Jack both turned to see Greayon standing in the doorframe, his dark hood covering his head.

"Is he killable?" asked Jack.

"By your hands, he believes he is." Greayon said, walking over to the map they were studying. "This will require great teamwork." He noted.

"We can do that." Jack said strongly.

"Well then, I have come to inform you that several ships outside the Lirage system picked up a commercial ship, on board was a holy man with his child and wife."

Jack perked up at the mention of Holy Man. "Imam?" she asked.

"He is being taken to safety, if you are able to stop the necromongers, then you will be able to see him again." Greayon informed them.

"Oh, so we do your dirty work and then we see him? You could have killed him, or not found him at all for all we know." Jack said, mad at the man. Riddick silenced her with a hand on her arm.

"We will allow you to see him then if that is how you feel." Said Greayon, before leaving the room.

"I think you offended him." Riddick commented to Jack.

"Good." Jack said, turning back to the map she began to mark the places she wanted the explosives to go. "You think this will work?" she asked Riddick softly.

"Of course it will, we're a team." Riddick said, looking into her eyes.

"Against a race of planet destroyers?" she asked sceptically.

"You won't let me die, I won't let you die, we're invincible." Riddick told her.

"I hope that's true." She said, looking away and back to the map.

"Hey." He said, grabbing her chin gently in her hands and making her look at him. "I won't let anyone touch you, okay?"

Jack smiled softly and nodded.

"Good girl." He growled, letting her get back to her plotting.

He looked at her, with her serious expression and her hair falling over her face, she didn't look anything like the kid he had rescued, she had hair for one, but the eyes hadn't changed, they were still big and green, good at hiding her emotions. She had the same stubborn set to her jaw when she wanted something to go her way, she still wasn't a morning person, and little things still annoyed her. even now, she was getting frustrated with her hair hanging over her face, swiping it back repeatedly, only to have it fall back over her eyes, finally she straightened up and pulled it all up on top of her head. Seeing Riddick looking at her, she frowned.

"What?" she demanded. Riddick reached up and pulled off his goggles so he could look at her properly. Reaching forward, he grabbed her chin and pulled her closer, leaning down and captured her lips in a kiss that seemed to go on forever.

He shifted Jack around and lifted her so she was sitting on the table as he continued to kiss her, hands running through her hair to pull out the band in her hair and let the silky waves cascade down. Her hands went around his neck and she kissed him back, just as hard as he kissed her.

They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat as they walked in the door. Jack and Riddick broke apart and looked to the door where Kalen was standing.

"Forgive me for, interrupting." He said, looking between them. "Greayon would like to talk to you master Riddick."

"What about this time?" he asked.

"Have fun." Jack said sarcastically.

"You, stay." Riddick ordered Jack before following Kalen out.

"Sorry big guy." She muttered, grabbing the maps and walking from the room.

When Riddick walked into the room, he was tensed, ready for a fight, nothing had changed, but he was angry at Kalen for interrupting, knowing Jack, she had already grabbed her things and fled from the room, as she tended to do after any sort of confrontation.

When Greayon walked into the room almost five minutes later, Riddick was ready to slit his throat, especially after the man took his time getting to the point.

"Hurry it up." Riddick growled.

"Am I to assume that you will help us?" he asked.

"No bounty, on either of us?" Riddick growled.

"None, you will both be free." Greayon promised.

"Fine, but we do things our way." Riddick said, before walking from the room.

As he had predicted, Jack had left the work room, but her scent still lingered in the room, he contemplated going to find her, but he decided to give her space, finding a spare map that she hadn't taken, he set to memorising the route to the chambers of the Lord Marshall.

Jack was woken in the middle of the night by consistent noise coming from the big room down the hall. Opening her door, she stuck her head out to see several people standing there.

"What's going on?" she asked Kalen, seeing him standing there.

"The full moon, the night of Allatar, they are preying to him." He explained.

"And that's what's with the noise?" She asked.

"Yes, they start at midnight and will not stop until the sun rises." He said.

"So no sleep?" she asked, rubbing her heavy eyes.

"What's going on?" asked Riddick.

"Big chanting thingy, don't stop till morning, keep us all awake." Jack muttered through a yawn. "I'm going to try sleep." She said, walking back to her room. Riddick listened for a few moments and followed Jack into her room. she was on the bed with a pillow clamped over her head to try drowning out the sound of the chanters. Riddick slipped into the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her as they tried to sleep through the noise.

Jack awoke to a pounding headache from all the noise last night and Riddick's arms wrapped around her. she was surprised to see that Riddick was still asleep.

Mercifully, the chanting had stopped, but Jack was left with her headache and the bags under her eyes as proof of the rituals.

Sliding out from underneath Riddick's arms, she winced as her feet made contact with the bare floor, she walked over to the wardrobe and found clean clothes.

While she showered, she mentally went over everything they had planned, a lot of things were based on chance and some things were risky, and it had to be fast, really fast or else they would all blow up with the ship.

When she got dressed, she walked back into her room, to no surprise Riddick had disappeared, she made her way down the hall and to the training room, where all the men were already assembled. It had become a morning ritual for her, to join them and see how many of them she could fight off, sometimes they even threw in weapons to make it more complicated.

Today, like always, Riddick came to watch her, she tried her best to ignore him as she was attacked by one of the men, she set him back with a firm punch to the head and sent him flying with a kick to the abdomen.

She looked over and saw the expression on his face, jumping down from the platform, she discarded the metal pole she held and walked over to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"We're going to Helion four." He said.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Because, we need to set some stuff up." Riddick explained.

"When do we leave?"

"How soon can you be ready?" he asked.

"Soon." She said.

"Our ship is in the hanger, ready to go." Riddick said to her.

"Meet you there in an hour?"

"Make it half." He said, she nodded and walked back to her room.

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He he, he called her princess, review plz and i will try to update asap. 


	9. Beliefs

Sorry, short chapter, will update as soon as possible. Thankyou to the people who review, you guys are great!

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Jack met Riddick in the hanger half an hour later, with her bag in her hand and ready to go. She smiled when she saw their ship waiting for them.

"How did they get this back here?" she asked Riddick who stepped from the ship.

"With some shitty piloting, something's wrong with the engine." He told her.

"I'll go check it out." She said, dumping her bag in the cargo hold and walking through to the engine room.

She looked over the engine carefully, not finding anything evidently wrong, she climbed under the engine for a proper inspection. Pulling down a handful of wires, she noted that they had been sharply severed, with a knife or something.

"Found anything?" came Riddick's voice, Jack sat suddenly and cracked her head on the engine.

"Ow, yes." She said, pulling herself from underneath the engine, a hand clamped on her head where a bruise was already starting to emerge.

"What was it?" he asked.

"I'm going to have a headache in the morning, and someone had severed the wires that connect to the starter port." Jack told him.

"Can you fix it?" he asked.

"I can totally rewire it, that's the safe option, or I can do a quick patch job."

"What's quickest?" Riddick asked.

"Patch job, but it's risky, the thing comes apart on landing, or takeoff, we blow up." Jack told him grimly.

"Patch it, we'll deal with it later." Riddick said walking away.

"Or we could blow up." Jack muttered, rifling through a toolbox for pliers and tape.

About ten minutes later, she had a quick patch job, done as best she could considering the circumstances. She grabbed the last wire and twisted them back together, securing them with tape.

"If there is a god, may he watch over us." She muttered, climbing out from under the engine.

"You believe in God, kid?" Asked Riddick from the doorway.

"Don't do that." Jack said, hand held over her racing heart. "Don't you have beliefs?" she asked, checking the engine diagnostics.

"I once told a man my beliefs, only ever one man and he's the only one who will know." Riddick said. "What about you?"

"I believe that there is someone out there, can't exactly forgive him though." She said, tightening a bolt until she was satisfied it could turn no more.

"For what?"

Jack paused, not looking at Riddick. "For not caring." She said, wiping her hands off on a rag.

"How didn't he care?" Riddick asked.

"I grew up in the slums, not knowing where my next meal was coming from, or whether I would be alive the next day. The streets are no place for a kid, and I know plenty who had nowhere else to go. What kind of God let's those children live that way?" she glanced over her shoulder at him. seeing he had no answer, she walked past him and out of the room.

"I believe in God, and I absolutely hate the fucker." Came Riddick's voice. Jack turned around, but he had already disappeared.

Up in the cockpit, she turned on the ships main power drives, hearing the familiar hum, she smiled lightly. She ran her fingers over the computer screen quickly, running a scan of the ship to check for any damage they may have missed, satisfied that the ship would make it out of the atmosphere and into space in one piece, she turned it off again and walked out into the hanger to find Riddick.

Stepping outside the ship, she felt the touch of cool metal on her neck next to her ear, she could tell by the smell and the weight of it that it was a gun, not a knife, and she was also familiar with the breathing of the man behind her.

"Toombs, I half expected them to kill you, or at least get rid of you." Jack commented.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" he asked.

"Well, I certainly have an intellectual advantage over you." Jack said.

"And that would be?" he asked.

"For one thing, I know when not to fuck with people." She said, one hand snaked up lightening fast, grabbing the gun, she pulled it, and Toombs over her shoulder and onto the floor in front of her. she placed a foot on his chest, while she pointed the gun at him.

"Drop the gun." Came a voice from behind her. Jack didn't even look as she lifted the gun and fired, knocking the gun from the hand of the man who held it, he fell back clutching his hand..

"Bring your whole crew Toombs?" she asked the man beneath her foot.

"Thought I taught you not to underestimate her Toombs." Came Riddick's voice as he emerged from the shadows.

"How was I to know the little bitch was as fast as you?" Toombs asked, Jack kicked him in the face hearing his little comment.

"You made three mistakes, one, you jumped her in the first place, two, you underestimated her, and three, don't send for any backup except for a man who can't keep his hold on his gun." Riddick said. Jack took the gun she was holding and tossed it carelessly away. she swooped down and grabbed Toombs by the neck of his shirt, slamming him against the side of the ship violently.

"We seem to have a case of déjà vu." She commented. "Maybe I should ghost you now, stop it from happening again."

"I agree with you." Said Riddick. "But where is the fun in that?"

"You cross us again, and I swear to god, I will kill you." She said, punching him in the face and releasing him. "The ship's ready to go."

"Well, lets go." Said Riddick, walking onto the ship. Jack took one look around the hanger before walking onto the ship and closing the hatch behind her.

she found Riddick in the cockpit firing up the engine.

"You sure the engine will hold?" he asked.

"The engine will, I'm not sure about the rest of the ship." Jack commented as she slid into the co pilot's seat and began to monitor the ships stats.

"It'll be fine." Riddick said as they cleared the hanger and began to rapidly descent.

"We should be fine if we clear the atmosphere." Jack said as they began to hit turbulence.

"And if we don't?" Riddick asked. Jack gripped her seat tight.

"Lets not talk about that until something happens." She said, relaxing as they cleared the atmosphere. "Flying with you is still frightening." She began to code in the coordinates of Helion Four and set the autopilot on. Unbuckling herself from the seat, she stood up.

"We should reach Helion four in about two weeks." She said.

"Why so long?" he asked.

"Furthest planet away, not to mention if we put too much pressure on the engine, it will blow up."

"That's reassuring." Riddick said in what could have been sarcasm. Jack smiled grimly and opened the door to the cockpit, suddenly she was ensnared around the waist by Riddick and puled towards him.

He covered her lips with his, his arms still tightly wrapped around her, but Jack didn't fight him. instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and lent into the embrace.

They were interrupted by the screen starting to beep, Jack freed herself and read the words.

"Great, something's wrong with the primary engine thrusters." She said, walking from the cockpit and down to the engine room. Riddick watched her go, then followed her. walking into the engine room, he found her removing a metal faceplate from the side of the engine, looking at the meters inside, she grabbed a wench and began to loosen one of the pipes, steam began to emerge from it. Almost instantly, the ship picked up speed, rather suddenly as Jack was thrown back, straight into the arms of Riddick, who caught her easily.

"Thanks." She said, standing back up and returning to the engine.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked.

"The valve is blocked." She told him, releasing the pipe. "Pressure builds up too much and the whole thing gives out. I'm going to have to cut the engine."

"Do what you have to, and make it quick, we're not in the clear yet." Riddick commanded before walking away.

"Aye aye captain." She muttered sarcastically. Turning off the entire engine, she found that the lights died also. Swearing, she groped around in the toolbox for her flashlight, turning it on, she balanced it between her shoulder and chin and set to clearing the blockage in the pipes, swearing as she went.

Riddick had been in the kitchen when the lights had gone out, he lifted his goggles and looked around in the dark as the ship fell silent. Listening intently, he could hear Jack swearing in the engine room. he walked up to the engine room with intentions of helping her.

"Can I help?" he asked. Jack was startled again and swung around, the flashlight shining directly into Riddick's eyes. He cursed and put a hand up to shield his eyes.

"Sorry." She apologised, directing the beam to the ground. Riddick said nothing, just pulled his goggles over his eyes again and held his hand out for the flashlight. Jack handed it to him and he held it up for her while she worked out the blockage. She frowned as she pulled out what looked like a twisted heap of metal, which had been lodged in there pretty tightly, around it had been built up a pile of mould and what looked like tar. Jack dropped it onto a rag and wiped the tar from her hands. Checking the pipe and being satisfied that it was clear of any blockages, she tightened them back up again and connected the power to the engine again. The lights flickered back on and the engine began to hum again. Jack checked the pressure valves, satisfied that everything was in order again. She turned around to day something to Riddick, but he had already disappeared.

Back in the cockpit, she looked over the diagnostics, making sure that they hadn't drifted out of the shipping lane they were in. Re programming the autopilot, she slumped back in the seat and watched the stars as they floated by. As much as she hated to admit it, she wished they had asked for cryo sleep chambers to be installed.

"Damn Mercs." She muttered.

Having ensured they would run off course and into a near by planet, she walked down to the cargo hold to retrieve her bag which she had left there earlier.

Back in her room, she unpacked quickly, reaching the bottom of the bag she reached in and pulled out all her weapons. She began to stash them around the room, two knives went under the bed where they could be reached easily. One knife went under her pillow, while she strapped two shivs to her waist, she didn't expect any violence on the ship, but life had taught her not to be unprepared.

* * *

Reviews, please! they mean a lot to me. 


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